


another roman

by mxkingfisher



Series: family life [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Logan is worried about Virgil, M/M, Remus and Roman have the same taste in boys, Remus is a shitty brother, Roman introduces Virgil to his family, Virgil and Remus are friends, Virgil does something stupid, his family is hella rich, sorry if you like Remus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 18:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21020042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxkingfisher/pseuds/mxkingfisher
Summary: Roman finally introduces Virgil to his family.





	another roman

If he could help it, Roman would never introduce Virgil to his family. But Virgil kept asking—not nagging, in true Virgil fashion he only dropped slight hints every now and then or asked an offhand question—and Roman felt like he owed it to him.

Roman had always known that Virgil called the Algebra teacher Mr. Conroy his brother, but he didn't realize that they were the only members of their household.

“Where are your guys’ parents?” Roman had asked once when him and Virgil were cuddled up on the couch watching Steven Universe.

Virgil had tensed. “We… don’t have any,” he managed. “And besides, Logan’s not my real brother. Not by blood, anyway. He just raised me.”

“… oh.” Roman took a moment to process this. “Then why do you call him your brother, and not your dad?”

“I don’t know. It’s just what felt right. Maybe because we were too close in age.”

“It’s only like nine years or something, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So… what happened to both of your guys’ real parents?”

“I’m not going to tell you Logan’s story because it's not mine to tell,” Virgil snapped, quickly apologizing when he saw the guilty look on Roman’s face. “And honestly… I was so little; four or five. I don’t exactly remember what happened back then.”

“You never _asked_?”

“I never really wanted to know,” Virgil admitted softly, and that was the end of the conversation.

Virgil had told Roman about his family, and after all his hinting, Roman decided it was probably time to show Virgil his own family. He already knew it would be a terrible idea.

The day before, he’d asked Mr. Conroy if Virgil could come home with him that day. He had raised an eyebrow and asked why, so Roman told him the truth: _I'm taking him to meet my family_. That seemed to be enough for the stoic teacher; he told Virgil to behave around Roman’s family and left it at that.

“You'll do fine,” Roman reassured Virgil while they rode the bus to Roman’s house. _It’s my family I’m worried about._

“How come you ride the bus, anyway? Isn’t your family super fancy or something?”

“They are, but I insist on riding the bus.”

“Why? The bus sucks.”

“Just to get a taste of freedom, Virge,” Roman replied dryly, and even with his tone Virgil understood he was telling the truth.

“So your family's kind of… overbearing?”

“In some cases, yeah.” Roman had thus far avoided telling Virgil about his brother. He wasn't exactly sure why, just that he always choked on the words.

It wasn’t until Roman and Virgil were approaching Roman’s front door that Roman blurted, “Before we go inside, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?” They had stopped right outside the front door.

“They can’t know about _us_, and I have a-”

The door flew open with an extremely loud shout of “_ROMAN!_” and someone dressed in black and green lunged at Roman, catching him in what appeared to be a playful headlock.

“Fuck off, Remus.” Roman forced a joking laugh.

Virgil was startled. “Um, who are you?”

Remus let go of Roman with a shove. “Well fuck me sideways… Roman, why didn’t you tell me you were friends with a hottie?” Remus licked his lips and winked at Virgil, who was suddenly staring straight into the eyes of another Roman.

_Twins_, he realized, and once he got past that realization he picked out many differences between them. _Definitely not another Roman._

“What’s your name?” Remus was asking, and Virgil almost missed the question with how intently he was scrutinizing the brothers.

“Virgil.” Virgil reached out his hand for Remus to shake, but instead of doing so, Remus bowed low and kissed Virgil’s knuckles. “Uh.”

“My name is Remus,” Remus greeted with a flourish. “But you can call me The Duke.”

“I think I’ll stick with Remus?” Virgil replied, voice pitching at the end so it sounded like a question.

Remus cackled and straightened. “You’re funny.”

“Okay.”

“C’mon, Virge, let’s head inside.” Roman put his hand on Virgil's back and directed him into the house. The house really was, as Virgil had put it earlier, _super fancy_. Roman’s parents were standing in the main room, having been roused by Remus’s yelling.

“Father, Mother, this is my best friend Virgil.”

“Hello, Virgil,” Roman’s father greeted him, holding out a hand for him to shake. He did, and Roman’s father cracked a smile. “Strong handshake,” he commented.

“Hello, Mr. Alyenore,” Virgil replied, feeling uncomfortably stiff in the presence of this fancy house and fancy family. “Hello, Mrs. Alyenore.” He looked at Roman’s mom.

“Good manners, too! You’re a good kid, Virgil. Roman could take a few pointers from you.” Mr. Alyenore laughed like this was a funny joke.

Roman cringed, and Virgil struggled to keep a straight face. “Thank you.”

“We’ll be in my room,” Roman cut in, directing Virgil’s movement again.

“You could have said that more politely, Roman,” Roman’s mother called after him, and Roman just groaned quietly.

“Oof,” Virgil commented when they were safely in Roman’s room.

“That's an understatement.”

“Also… how come we can’t tell your family about us? It seems like your brother is at least a little bit attracted to boys.” He blushed, remembering Remus’ earlier antics.

“Well, yeah, but Remus is Remus. My parents don’t take him seriously because he doesn’t even take himself seriously. And if I tell Remus there's no guarantee he won't tell our parents, not to mention he’ll definitely make it into a fight.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, he just starts silly duels over things all the time,” Roman replied nonchalantly.

“Huh. Wow, Logan and I really are a lot different than you and Remus.”

“Tell me about it.” Roman sighed.

“Speak of the devil and he shall come,” came a voice from the door. Virgil jumped towards Roman and clung to his arm, looking at Remus standing in the doorway.

“I thought you locked the door!” Virgil exclaimed.

“I did. What do you want, Remus?”

“I just wanted to see Virgil. My knight in dark armor has arrived and I just _can’t_ get my mind off of him.” Remus plopped himself down next to Virgil and threw his arm around his shoulders, wriggling into his side.

Virgil laughed at the cheesy line. “Hi, Remus.” He was a little uncomfortable, but he assumed that Remus was just an acquired taste.

Next to them, Roman fumed. “Leave him alone, Remus.”

“It’s all in good fun, brother. See, he’s smiling.” Remus pinched Virgil’s cheek.

Roman couldn’t contest the statement, as Virgil was indeed smiling, but the murderous look in his eye remained even after he shut his mouth.

“So, Virge, you have a sibling?” Remus was asking.

“I have an older brother.” Virgil didn’t really care about the questions, but he wished Remus wouldn’t sit so close.

“Fantastic! Just another thing we have in common, eh?” Remus’ gaze shifted to Roman for a moment. “And what are your parents like? Ours are a bit stuffy, as you probably noticed.”

“Um. They’re gone a lot,” Virgil lied, “so my brother pretty much takes care of me.”

“Really? Our parents go on long trips sometimes, and when they do they hire a nanny.” Remus stuck his tongue out in disapproval. “Anyway, Virge, have you got a special someone in your life?”

Virgil nearly choked on his own saliva. “Yes,” he blurted, and Roman tensed beside him, “but you wouldn’t know them, they don’t go to our school.” Roman slowly relaxed.

“Long distance, then? You poor thing.” Remus put a hand near Virgil’s knee and squeezed slightly. In the context, it seemed like it was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but to Virgil it was just strange.

Dinner was uncomfortable. Roman’s parents talked to Virgil the whole time and ignored their sons, so much so that Virgil got the sense that normal dinners here were silent.

“What are your parents’ names?” Roman's father had asked when Virgil had given them the same spiel he gave Remus.

Virgil froze. “Um.”

“I was just thinking we might know them.”

“Probably not. They’re not really in your guys’ circle.”

“Well, alright, keep your secrets,” Roman’s father joked, and Virgil looked down at his plate. “At least tell us about your brother, though.”

“He teaches at the school,” Virgil said softly.

“Really? What does he teach?”

“Algebra,” Virgil replied. “His name is Logan Conroy?”

“Your brother is Mr. Conroy? He’s Roman's honors algebra teacher!”

“I know.”

“Yes, I suppose you must know, because you and Roman are friends and all. Have you been to Virgil’s house, Roman?”

Roman looked startled. “Yeah, quite a few times.”

“And you hadn’t brought him over here until now?”

“Sorry," Roman mumbled.

“Did you meet Virgil's parents?”

“No, they weren’t there.”

“Well, thank goodness Virgil’s not a girl, then.” Roman’s father laughed, and Virgil and Roman steadily avoided each other’s gazes.

“My brother was there, though,” Virgil spoke up, “so if I were a girl you can bet he wouldn’t let anything happen.” That was probably a lie, considering that at the time Logan was too busy with his own boyfriend to worry about what Virgil and Roman were doing.

“Yes, I’d imagine he’s a very responsible man. You know what, Virgil, the next time your parents are in town you should let us know and we can come over for dinner with them.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Nonsense, it’s an excellent idea, and we’d love to meet your parents.” Roman’s father brushed him off.

Roman’s mother nodded. “You know you’re the only friend Roman has ever introduced us to? I’m starting to think he's embarrassed by us.” She laughed.

Virgil and Roman had a few hours to kill after dinner, so they decided to watch a movie. Remus invited himself to join them, throwing an arm around Virgil again and shaking him energetically each time he spoke to Virgil about something in the movie.

“I hate that character,” Remus sneered as a brunette girl made her first appearance in the movie. “I wish she'd jump into a lake, hit her head on a rock, and fucking drown. “We’re breaking the law, you guys, we shouldn’t go in there!” We get it, you’re a goody two-shoes, now shut up before I tear your face off and wear it as a Halloween mask.” He’d quoted the line from the movie in a terrible high-pitched impression of the girl’s voice, and Virgil laughed.

“Shut up, Remus!” Roman snapped. “We’re trying to watch a movie here!”

“Well, I’m _sorry_, dear brother, but this is how _I_ watch movies!”

“You’re so frustrating!” Roman groaned.

“Aw, look, little baby’s throwing a tantrum!” Remus said, talking about Roman but shaking Virgil to let him know he was talking to him.

“Come on, Roman, he’s just having fun. Besides, it’s true, that character is really annoying.”

Roman frowned, looking at Remus. He began to tread rather carefully, realizing that Remus would definitely start a fight over this. “Just be quieter, please.” Remus grinned, and Roman knew that he would just continue to annoy Roman until he snapped or if he didn’t, at least force him to endure it.

Not too long after the movie ended, Logan arrived to pick up Virgil, and both twins walked with him to the door. Roman tried to stop Remus from following them to the car, which resulted in a little scuffle and ended with Remus following them anyway.

Before he got into the car, Virgil held out his arms to offer Roman a hug, deciding that was safely within the realm of what friends do. Roman hugged him, but when they separated Remus lunged for a hug as well. Virgil stumbled, but Remus was strong, and he kept him upright. “You should come over again soon,” Remus said in Virgil’s ear as they hugged, and Virgil had to suppress a shiver at the sensation. After that, Virgil climbed into the passenger seat of Logan’s car, and Remus leaned down to see him. “Bye, Virge.” He winked.

“Bye, Virgil, see you tomorrow,” Roman said with a smile as he crouched down next to Remus.

“Bye, Roman,” Virgil replied, returning the smile. “Bye, Remus.” They both stepped back and Logan drove away, glancing at Virgil as he exhaled loudly.

“Are you close with Roman's brother?” He asked.

“Not really. We just met today. I didn't even know Roman had a twin until now.”

“I didn't realize that you gave hugs to people that you weren't close to.”

“I don't. _He_ hugged _me_.”

“What do you think of Roman's family?”

Virgil twisted one of his hoodie strings around his finger. “His parents are kinda detached, it seems like. And Remus is… _quite_ a character.”

“Why are you fidgeting?”

“Why are you looking at me? Eyes on the road," Virgil countered. “… I may have lied to Roman’s family about the state of our family,” he admitted. “I told them that our parents were just gone a lot so you’d basically raised me.” He tugged his hood so far over his head that it shadowed his eyes.

Logan was silent for much too long. “Why?”

“I… don't really know. I lied to Remus first, and I didn't expect their parents to ask me about it as well. But they did, and I panicked and felt like I was in too deep so I lied to them as well.”

“We're going to have to fix this, Virgil, do you understand?”

Virgil sighed heavily. “They’re gonna hate me now, Lo,” he whined, pulling on his hoodie strings so that the hood closed around his face. “They won't want me hanging around Roman, let alone _dating_ him.”

“You should have thought about that before lying to them. We're going to go over there tomorrow and tell them the truth.”

Virgil groaned loudly. “I’m so stupid, Lo.”

“That is a blatant falsehood. You’re not stupid. You simply made a poor decision. Everyone does that occasionally.”

“Right.”

“Could you tell me about your evening?”

“Uh, sure. Roman told me not to tell his family that we were, like, together, so I didn’t, obviously, but it was weird to me because it seemed like Remus was into guys and not super low-key about it.”

“Did he express interest in you?”

“Yeah,” Virgil admitted, “it was pretty uncomfortable. It pissed Roman off to no end, but he couldn’t really tell Remus to back off properly because he didn’t want to tell him we were together. He said something about him making it into a fight, and it did seem like they squabbled a lot. Remus is kinda weird but he’s pretty funny, at least in my opinion. I think Roman’s sense of humor is just way different, though, he didn't seem to find a lot of what Remus said particularly funny.”

“Did you make sure Remus knew you weren’t available, at least?”

“I tried, but he didn't really back off. I’m not sure he believed me.”

“I see.” Logan contemplated for a moment. “I’m looking forward to meeting Roman’s family in a personal setting.”

“Well, you’ll get your chance tomorrow,” Virgil mumbled, “because of my blunder.”

“Indeed,” Logan replied, and that was that.


End file.
